Footwear carrier

ABSTRACT

A carrier for carrying footwear is presented. The carrier has a figure, the figure having a first hook, a second hook and a to. The first hook and the second hook are for coupling to the footwear. The carrier has a base for coupling to the figure. The base has a rotator, the rotator may be changed in position to afford the person wearing the carrier to be more comfortable. The base is coupled to the figure either directly or by a connecting rod. The rotator may be coupled to either the connecting rod or the figure to be more secure. The carrier further has a clip. The clip is useful for coupling the carrier to an article such as a belt, a waist band, a bag, a stroller, etc.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to footwear. More particularly, it relates to anapparatus to carry footwear.

BACKGROUND

Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which originally serves topurpose of protection against adversities of the environment, usuallyregarding ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner ofshoes therefore primarily serves the purpose to ease the locomotion andprevent injuries. Secondly footwear can also be used for fashion andadornment as well as to indicate the status or rank of the person withina social structure. Socks and other hosiery are typically wornadditionally between the feet and other footwear for further comfort andrelief.

Cultures have different customs regarding footwear. These include notusing any in some situations, usually bearing a symbolic meaning.

Footwear has been in use since the earliest human history, archeologicalfinds of complete shoes date back to the copper age (ca. 5.000 BCE).Some ancient civilizations, such as Egypt and Greece however saw nopractical need for footwear due to convenient climatic and landscapesituations and used shoes primarily as ornaments and insignia of power.

The Romans saw clothing and footwear as unmistakable signs of power andstatus in society, and most Romans wore footwear, while slaves andpeasants remained barefoot. The Middle Ages saw the rise of high-heeledshoes, also associated with power, and the desire to look larger thanlife, and artwork from that period often depicts bare feet as a symbolof poverty. Depictions of captives such as prisoners or slaves from thesame period well into the 18th century show the individuals barefootedalmost exclusively, at this contrasting the prevailing partakers of thescene. Officials like prosecutors, judges but also slave owners orpassive bystanders were usually portrayed wearing shoes.

In some cultures, people remove their shoes before entering a home. Barefeet are also seen as a sign of humility and respect, and adherents ofmany religions worship or mourn while barefoot. Some religiouscommunities explicitly require people to remove shoes before they enterholy buildings, such as temples.

In several cultures people remove their shoes as a sign of respecttowards someone of higher standing. In a similar context deliberatelyforcing other people to go barefoot while being shod oneself has beenused to clearly showcase and convey one's superiority within a settingof power disparity.

Practitioners of the craft of shoemaking are called shoemakers,cobblers, or cordwainers.

When a person's foot hurts after walking in footwear or there is adesire to no longer have footwear on such as on the beach, these peoplemay desire to carry their footwear. When carrying their footwear, ittakes either one or both hands to carry the footwear which preventsthese people from using their hands for other, more desirous things.Therefore, there is a need to have an apparatus that a person can carrytheir footwear without preventing them from using their hands for otheruses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustrated view of an exemplary footwear carrier.

FIG. 1B is an illustrated view of a second figure for the exemplaryfootwear carrier of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1C is an illustrated view of third figure for the exemplaryfootwear carrier of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1D is an illustrated view of a fourth figure for the exemplaryfootwear carrier of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is an illustrated view of the exemplary footwear carrier of FIG.1 in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in someembodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,”“having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictatesotherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list.

“Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,”“by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,”“in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,”“of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,”“preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,”“substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,”“to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptorsherein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree,unless context dictates otherwise.

Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments asillustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described inconnection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is nointent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On thecontrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications andequivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, orcombinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined,without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary footwear carrier 100 for carryingfootwear is presented. The footwear carrier 100 is useful for when atthe beach, at a swimming pool and other locations and a person desiresto have their footwear off. The footwear carrier 100 is useful forproviding a way to carry the footwear without having to not have theperson's hands available for other activity or needs.

The footwear carrier 100 may carry footwear. The footwear may preferablybe sandals, but may be any type of footwear such as tennis shoes, boots,dress shoes, etc. The footwear carrier 100 is preferably made of aplastic material, but may be made of other materials such as PVC, cloth,aluminum, steel, etc.

The footwear carrier 100 has a FIG. 102, a rotator 104, a base 106 and aclip 108.

The FIG. 102 has a first hook 110, a second hook 112 and a top 114. Thefirst hook 110 of the FIG. 102 of the footwear carrier 100 is useful forproviding a holding area for coupled to a first connecting area(described in FIG. 2) of a first footwear. The first connecting area ispreferably a strap, but may be any connecting area such as shoelaces,Velcro strip, etc. The FIG. 102 of FIG. 1A is shown as an anchor, but inFIG. 1B a star fish is shown, FIG. 1C shows the FIG. 102 to be anoctopus, FIG. 1D shows a shark as the FIG. 102, any other shapes may beused whether ocean specific or otherwise.

The second hook 112 of the FIG. 102 of the footwear carrier 100 isuseful for providing a holding area for coupled to a second connectingarea (described in FIG. 2) of a second footwear. The second connectingarea is preferably a strap, but may be any connecting area such asshoelaces, Velcro strip, etc.

The top 114 of the FIG. 102 of the footwear carrier 100 may be coupledto a base 106. The base 106 is preferably rectangular in shape, but maybe other shapes such as triangular, round, square, etc. The base 106 ispreferably made of a plastic material, but may be made of othermaterials such as aluminum, steel, etc.

Optionally and or additionally, the top of the FIG. 102 of the footwearcarrier 100 may be coupled to a connecting rod 116. The connecting rod116 is preferably cylindrical in shape, but may be made of other shapessuch as rectangular, oblong, etc.

The optional connecting rod 116 may be coupled to the base 106 of thefootwear carrier 100. The connecting rod 116 may further be coupled tothe rotator 104.

The rotator 104 is preferably coupled to substantially near a center 118of the base 106 of the footwear carrier 100. The rotator 104 is usefulfor positioning the footwear carrier 100 in a different position if thefootwear carrier 100 is uncomfortable.

The base 106 further has a back 120. A clip 108 is coupled to the back120 of the base 106 of the footwear carrier 100. The clip 108 is usefulfor coupling to an article, such as a belt, waist band, bag, stroller,etc. The clip 108 is preferably a u-clip, but may be a string, ans-clip, etc.

Moving now to FIG. 2, the footwear carrier 100 of FIG. 1A is shown inuse with a footwear 200. The footwear 200 may preferably be sandals, butmay be any type of footwear such as tennis shoes, boots, dress shoes,etc.

The footwear 200 has a right footwear 202 and a left footwear 204. Theright footwear 202 has a first strap 206 and a second strap 208. Inother types of footwear 200 instead of a first strap 206 and secondstrap 208, the footwear 200 may have shoestrings, Velcro, etc.

The left footwear 204 has a first strap 210 and a second strap 212. Thefirst hook 110 of the FIG. 102 of the footwear carrier 100 is coupledaround the first strap 206 of the right footwear 202. The first hook 110of the FIG. 102 of the footwear carrier 100 is further coupled aroundthe second strap 206 of the right footwear 202.

The second hook 112 of the FIG. 102 of the footwear carrier 100 iscoupled around the first strap 210 of the left footwear 204. The secondhook 112 of the FIG. 102 of the footwear carrier 100 is further coupledaround the second strap 212 of the left footwear 204.

Although not shown, the base 106 is coupled to a belt of a pair ofshorts worn by a person. The base 106 is coupled to the belt by the clip108. The rotator 104 may be repositioned to help make the footwearcarrier 100 more comfortable.

In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects andembodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) accordingto respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” orother such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.)more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may eitheridentify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might becalled “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, inrespective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to whichthey refer or other features described above.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specificexemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies arerepresentative of more general processes and/or devices and/ortechnologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filedherewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.

The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied toother embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features ofother embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope ofthe present invention.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

1. A carrier for carrying footwear, the carrier comprising: a figure,the figure having a first hook, a second hook and a top, wherein thefirst hook being coupled to a first connecting area of the footwear andthe second hook being coupled to a second connecting area of thefootwear; a base, the base for coupling to the figure, wherein the basehas a rotator; the rotator being for repositioning of the carrier; and aclip, the clip being coupled to the base, wherein the clip for couplingto an article.
 2. The carrier of claim 1, further comprising aconnecting rod, wherein the connecting rod being coupled to the top ofthe figure and coupled to the base.
 3. The carrier of claim 2, whereinthe connecting rod having a cylindrical shape.
 4. The carrier of claim1, wherein the base being made of a plastic material.
 5. The carrier ofclaim 1, wherein the carrier being made of a plastic material.
 6. Thecarrier of claim 1, wherein the base having a triangular shape.
 7. Thecarrier of claim 1, wherein the carrier having a rectangular shape. 8.The carrier of claim 1, wherein the figure being a sea creature.
 9. Thecarrier of claim 8, wherein the sea creature being an octopus.
 10. Thecarrier of claim 1, wherein the figure being an anchor.
 11. The carrierof claim 8, wherein the sea creature being a star fish.
 12. The carrierof claim 8, wherein the sea creature being a shark.